Joyspan: the QUALITY of your long life
The science behind how connection, purpose, and giving can help us live, and age, well.

Presented as part Spur Community Foundation’s Giving Thought Learning Series in partnership with St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation

Dr. Kerry Burnight, America’s Gerontologist and New York Times bestselling author of Joyspan, has spent decades at the bedsides of people in the final chapters of life and learned firsthand what they wish they’d done more of.

In this talk, she makes the research-backed case that joy isn’t a soft outcome of a good life, it’s a clinical driver of one and that growth, connection, and giving are among the most powerful (and overlooked) longevity practices we have. Drawing on her clinical experience and the latest science of aging well, Dr. Kerry explores why giving back doesn’t just serve our communities — it may be one of the best things we do for our own health, purpose, and joy.